


Weathering the Storm

by BunanTsokolatte



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Alcohol, Dragon Age II Spoilers, Dragon Age: Inquisition Spoilers, Drinking, Drinking & Talking, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Minor Anders/Hawke, Romance, Snarky Hawke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-03-09 18:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3260351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunanTsokolatte/pseuds/BunanTsokolatte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-Adamant. One-shot. Miriam Hawke and Alistair meet up at Skyhold's tavern to relax, talk, and reflect. When Amadia Trevelyan joins them, they encourage her to act on her feelings for the Inquisition's commander and are reminded of their loved ones back home.</p><p>(Basically, what would happen if the three big heroes featured in DA:I got together to relax and talk about non-Inquisition business for once?)</p><p>Partially for Januanders (since all the other Handers stuff I've written is unfinished and I'm unsure if I want them to be one-shot or multichapter).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weathering the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> For context: Alistair stayed a Grey Warden and married the Hero of Ferelden (Elisande "Elli" Tabris). They let the Architect live and stayed at Vigil's Keep for years, giving birth to fraternal twins Duncan and Adaia ("Addie") during that time. 
> 
> Miriam Hawke (Mage!Hawke, Sarcastic!Hawke) supported and stayed with Anders, letting him live and running from Kirkwall with him after the rebellion. Miriam became pregnant during their time helping mages and they sought refuge at Vigil's Keep where Alistair and Elli let them stay in exchange for Anders serving the Wardens once more as a healer and helping Anders and his control with Justice. Alistair and Elli left for their separate missions and Miriam followed upon hearing of Corypheus, leaving Anders at Vigil's Keep with their son.
> 
> I'll eventually have series on this site for Elisande Tabris and Miriam Hawke but since this is during the events of Inquisition, it will be filed under Amadia's series.

As the Grey Warden who had married and fought alongside the Hero of Ferelden, Alistair had gotten used to the way a room full of people would quiet the moment he walked in. The tavern at Skyhold was no exception as the loud, drunken conversation seemed to reduce to whispers as he approached the barkeep. Avoiding the stares as he walked past, he took his ale up to the upper floor where he'd have a more secluded table.

As he sipped his ale, he pulled out a series of papers from his pack. One was the letter he received from his wife, thanks to the Inquisitor contacting her. He had read it an endless number of times whenever he was feeling sad or alone, which seemed to be nearly all the time without her. He imagined hearing her voice when he read it, imagined her smile and his arms around her. She had mentioned this time around that she was on her way to find the Architect and that his research might be the key to ending their Callings. He prayed for her safety and her success. 

She also told him how much she missed him and their children, and Alistair swore he saw some of the ink blotted with tears. It only made Alistair ache for her presence more, knowing the separation was hurting her as much as it did him. He missed the children as much as Elli did; their laughter always helped to drown out the whispers of the Calling. He missed the little stutters in their voices when they talked and how they excitedly told him about their day when his work was done. He missed chasing them in the yard at Vigil's Keep and teaching them how to fight with little wooden swords and shields(even if Elli competed with him by teaching them to use them as daggers). He missed putting them to bed, giving each a kiss and smoothing his hand over the dark hair of their mother, and thanking the Maker as he gazed at a sleeping Elli in his arms. He couldn't wait until this was all over and he had them in his arms again.

Thinking of Duncan and Adaia reminded him. He looked at the other papers on the table: a letter from Soris, letting him know the children were all right and getting along well with his own children in spite of occasional little spats. They were helping them learn to read and write and Addie was getting frustrated being a tad behind compared to Duncan. Soris's children were excellent and giving little Adaia the support she needed while challenging Duncan to learn new letters. He could see their progress in the pictures attached. Duncan and Addie had each drawn one; Addie drew one of a big wheel of cheese with a smiling face on it with a barely legible 'For Daddy,' adorably misspelled, while Duncan drew stick four stick figures holding hands with the words 'Love you, miss you' at the top. Looking at the drawings swiftly brought tears to his eyes and his fingertips traced over the lines on the pages.

“Duncan and Addie?” a smooth voice said to him from his right.

He looked up and saw Miriam Hawke's familiar smirk, a mug of ale in one hand. He smiled at her and pulled out the seat next to him for her.

“Yes,” he said, banishing the tears that had nearly fallen from his eyes. “Soris tells me they're learning how to read and write, though Addie's a little behind compared to Duncan.”

“I can see that,” Miriam said, her eyes peeking at the messages scrawled next to the drawings. “I'd say their penmanship is already coming along. They'll be reading Varric's books in no time.”

Alistair laughed. “Hopefully just the children's stories for now. I've seen what's in that _Swords and Shields_ serial of his.”

Miriam raised an eyebrow. “You've read that too? Could've sworn I saw that tough Seeker woman that interrogated Varric reading that.”

“I...may have _glanced_ at it...” Alistair said sheepishly. 

Miriam rolled her eyes. “The fact that that book is about Aveline, especially after all I did to get her and Donnic together...” She screwed up her face in a strange mix of disgust and amusement and shook her head. “Anyway, any word from Elli?” 

“Yes,” Alistair said. Miriam saw that sickeningly sweet, tender smile form on his face, the one he wore whenever he talked about his wife. “She's off to find the Architect. She's hopes that his research will be the key to reversing our Calling.”

Miriam's eyes widened at that. “Would it really help?”  


“It's not certain but he used Grey Warden blood to stop his darkspawn from heeding the Old Gods. There's got to be something in his research that could make it work for Wardens too. Either way, Elli will find the answer.”

Miriam scoffed. “You lovebirds,” she said jokingly but there was a hint of sweetness in her eyes. “You miss her like crazy.”

“I do,” Alistair admitted. “You know, we've never been separated like this before. I mean, there would be times that we had to back at Vigil's Keep, if she had to recruit or if I had to fight remaining darkspawn somewhere, but we always knew we would see each other again soon. But this...this is big. Who knows when she'll come back? Or if...”

Miriam saw his eyes fall and his throat move as he swallowed the unthinkable.

She changed the subject. “I just sent Anders a letter letting him know we'll be heading to Adamant soon. I'm not glad to be away from him but to know he's not caught up in all of this makes it worth it. The sooner we're done here, the sooner I'll get to see him and my son again.”

“I know the feeling. How are he and Mal doing?”

“As well as I expected,” Miriam replied, a smile on her face. “Anders was terrified about being left alone to look after him. He was afraid he'd hurt him. But Justice has never wanted to hurt that child. In a strange way, it's comforting to know that there are still two people there to take care of Mal. Sort of.” She took a sip of her swill before continuing. “The way Anders talks about Mal is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt. It's downright adorable that they're getting some father-son time. I wish I was there to see it.”

Alistair studied his companion's dreamy face with a smile of his own. At least he and his friend could miss their children together.

“You know, when we were all at Vigil's Keep,” Alistair began, “I thought I might understand by just watching you two. Now,” Alistair cleared his throat, “let me be clear. Anders will always be a friend first and foremost. I don't agree with what he did but I can understand why he did it. He helped me and Elli a great deal when he was with us. But...” Alistair paused for a moment, hoping everything he said was enough to preface what he said next. “Is it...hard to love the man who Thedas credits for starting this whole templar-mage debacle?”

Alistair feared Miriam would be offended but was surprised at the tender, pensive smile that came over her face. Her fingertips absentmindedly stroked her mug as she stared into the top of her drink. “It is but...I know him. Reading him has always been like a puzzle. Before all this began, I could tell which pieces belonged to him and which belonged to Justice. But now, it's all one. All those pieces have come together and they're one person.”

A rotation of her mug, the bottom of it scuffling along the wood of the table. “Anders and I always used to focus so much on how Justice changed him. But as we've been away from Kirkwall, in places more quiet and less populated by Templars, we've been seeing how _Justice_ has changed because of him. Justice greatly disapproved of Anders and I succumbing to our feelings for each other; he saw me as a distraction from Anders's goal to help mages. But being together, just the two of us on the run with none of the diversions of Kirkwall...Anders says the moments of tenderness between us make Justice ponder, especially the moments where we need each other the most. He pulls back more, or at least as much as he can from their fusion...tries to let Anders have himself more. 

“Nowadays, he only comes out when we're cornered, when we have no way out, or when I'm about to be struck down. I was so proud of Anders. He began holding him back whenever he came out. The glowing that happens when Justice comes out, it flickers and Anders's voice wins over Justice's. I would hear him calling my name or Mal's or one of his friends', even Ser Pounce-a-Lot's. He says focusing on a name of someone he cares about helps him break through. He still can't control Justice at will but...he's made such progress.

 “He's...freer now. The way he carries himself is like the world can't hold him down anymore. He's still learning to work with Justice. The world either praises or condemns him. But mages are carving out some independence for themselves, and he's helping them do it. And then he has me and Malcolm.” 

She looked down at her drink and laughed to herself. “When he asked me to marry him, he said he wanted to wait to propose until he had control of Justice, until he was the man I deserved. With everything that was happening, he couldn't wait so he vowed that he'd strive everyday to control Justice and protect me and our family. To see him doing exactly that...working so hard to do better, to _be_ better...” She smiled widely to herself. “I love that man to pieces. I can't help but be proud of him.”

 Alistair watched his friend, staring up at the wall now and smiling herself silly. It was easy to recognize the flush of love that was overtaking her face when he had been accused of wearing the same one at the mere mention of his wife.

His reverie was broken when he heard his name.

“Alistair. Hawke,” said Cullen with the Inquisitor at his side. Amadia Trevelyan smiled in greeting at the two of them.

Hawke's pensive face morphed into a much more mischievous and familiar one. “Inquisitor. And Commander Grumpy Gills! You've actually _left_ your tower?” Miriam greeted, mimicking Cullen with a cheerful tone. She noted how Amadia stifled a giggle at Cullen's souring expression at the nickname. 

“How are you both?” Alistair asked. 

“I'd be better if I wasn't about to bury myself beneath a pile of reports,” Cullen sighed. Alistair thought for a moment that he hadn't seen Cullen so tired in his life. The man had confided in him about his lyrium withdrawal and, as an ex-Templar himself, Alistair worried for his friend's health. But the commander seemed to revive a little whenever he was around the Inquisitor, as he could see from the way he was smiling at her now.

“Cullen was kind enough to walk me to the tavern,” said Amadia. “I wanted to check on the people here.”

“Then I insist you share a drink with us,” Hawke said, standing up and making her way to the stairs. “We can have a contest! You too, Commander Frowny Face!”

“A—what?” Amadia asked after her, her eyes widening at the thought of a drinking contest with the Champion of Kirkwall. Miriam was already downstairs before she could answer her.

“I should return to my duties, especially before Hawke comes back,” Cullen said, turning to her with that smirk on his face.

“Alright, but you should take a chance to relax yourself one of these days.”

Cullen chuckled. “I'll try.”

“Not to worry, Inquisitor,” Alistair said. “I'll make sure to drag him out of his tower. He and I still have some catching up to do while I'm still here.”

Amadia laughed. “I appreciate the assistance.”

Cullen only sighed, shaking his head with a smile on his face. “By your leave, Amadia.”

She nodded and he gave her a smile before making his way out of the tavern. Alistair didn't miss the way Amadia's cheeks colored and the way her smile stuck to her face as she looked after him. When they had spoken earlier, Cullen had admitted to having fonder feelings for the Inquisitor at Alistair's prodding. Alistair had suspected the Inquisitor returned his feelings but was not completely sure until now.

“You know, I knew Cullen back in Templar training,” Alistair mentioned, pulling Amadia from her thoughts and drawing her gaze. “Seeing him at the Inquisition is the first time I've seen him in years.”

“What was he like back then?” Amadia asked, crossing her arms and tilting her head in curiosity at the thought of young Cullen.

“Damn close to being teacher's pet, he was. Always training and asking questions. At the times he _wasn't_ so diligent, I kept him...accountable.”

“Do I want to know what that means?” Amadia asked, anticipating some mischief in his answer.

“It means whenever he fell asleep during our studies, I'd do what any good friend would do and wake him up. In all sorts of clever and creative ways, I may add! Once with a little mouse that I snuck into his shift!”

Amadia laughed at the thought of Cullen dancing and scrambling around a room full of Templars as he tried getting a tiny rodent out from beneath his clothes.

Alistair's smile saddened slightly. “He smiles so much less now, though. I can't say I blame him. I was with my wife and our companions when we found him at the Ferelden Circle when it was taken over by demons. He...wasn't doing good. No one can come out of that unscarred.”

Amadia wanted to ask more but held her tongue. It wasn't her place to pry into Cullen's business, not when he would tell her in his own time if he wished.

Alistair's smile became cheerful again as he looked at Amadia. “But I'm glad he can smile around you. I always wondered if he'd ever fancy anyone. Always seemed more interested in work than romance. It's nice to see that he's finally settled down with somebody.”

Amadia's cheeks took on a brighter flush and she turned away, laughing breathily. “Oh, we're not--”

“Are you joking?” they heard Hawke say as she made her way to them from across the room, two full mugs of ale in her hands. “The way you two stare at each other is almost as bad as Alistair and the Hero of Ferelden!”

“That's saying something,” Alistair piped in, looking at the Inquisitor with a mock seriousness. Amadia swore his smile grew the slightest bit brighter at the mention of his wife. 

“I'm sure it's just your imagination,” Amadia said kindly, offering a polite smile as she took a mug from the Champion. “Cullen is an incredible commander and has been a great pillar of support in all this.”

Miriam snickered. “I'm sure he has a _marvelous_ pillar for you to support yourself on,” she murmured wickedly just as the Inquisitor was taking a sip of her ale, causing her to swallow it wrong and cough loudly as she tried to clear her windpipe. 

Miriam laughed and sighed in exasperation as Amadia, who gave her a righteous glare, composed herself. The Champion shook her head with that crooked smirk on her face. “Oh, my darling, oblivious Inquisitor, you beautiful tropical fish you. I was in Kirkwall for seven years and I swear I never saw Cullen smile once. On that walk you do every morning on the battlements, he doesn't stop smiling.”

“I'm sure he is just being polite,” Amadia said.

“A face _that_ happy isn't the face of someone just being polite, especially for Cullen,” Alistair said, smirking knowingly. “What's holding you back?” 

Amadia's face grew somber and she averted her eyes to some spot on the floor. “Well...he used to be a Templar. He's had bad experiences with mages over the years. The way he talks about it...I don't know if he'd want to be with a mage after all that.”

Alistair's sad expression mirrored Amadia's and he leaned forward to look at her better. “It's true that Cullen has had some terrible experiences with mages, some of the worst. But he doesn't _hate_ them. He has far too much honor and principle to do that.” He smiled at her kindly. “I've never seen Cullen look at anyone the way he looks at you. He doesn't care if you're a mage. If you told him your feelings, I'd bet money he'd return them in kind.”

Amadia contemplated his words for a moment and smiled. “Thank you, Alistair.”

“Besides,” Miriam cut in, standing next to the Inquisitor and draping an arm around her shoulder. “You're noble, fair, strong, powerful...everything he would look for! Not to mention you're utterly gorgeous and your body is _fantastic,_ ” she said, scanning her eyes down her body in an exaggerated once-over. She raised her mug in emphasis, its contents sloshing slightly over the edges, as Amadia laughed sheepishly at the Champion's comments. “You're the damn Inquisitor! He's got a lot of better things to look at than the fact that you're a mage.” Miriam leaned in to whisper, though her voice was far too loud to be such. “Though if you need to seal the deal, there's this lightning trick Anders uses on me all the time in bed--”

“Hawke!” Amadia chastised, her eyes wide as she looked around to see if anyone overheard. Alistair thought something in her expression seemed intrigued, however.

“What?” Miriam asked as she shrugged. “It feels _amazing_. It's even better when there are _two_ mages,” Miriam mentioned suggestively as she waggled her eyebrows.

Amadia let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh as she shook her head at her companion's expression. “Look, thank you both. I'll tell him. I just need to work up the nerve.”

“Well, don't take too long or you'll be waiting three years like I did for my husband,” Hawke said, smirking before she took a swig of her ale. “Now, c'mon. Let's drink!”

They drank and drank into the night, seeming to go down an endless list of drinking games provided by Hawke. When Amadia's mind began to wander and she began to blurt out any little thought that came to mind, Miriam and Alistair decided it was time for them to return the Inquisitor to her chambers...or rather, for Cullen to. They exchanged conspiratorial looks as Alistair took up walking Amadia up the stairs and across the battlements to Cullen's office where he promptly thrust Amadia into the commander's arms before he could say anything. (“You have to take her back to her chambers! _I_ can't do it! I'm a married man, remember? You know? The Hero of Ferelden? My indestructible goddess of a wife? Think of the rumors that would transpire if I was seen walking the Inquisitor back to her bedchambers! And if they got back to Elli? You don't want to see what happens when she gets angry.”)

Miriam had watched Alistair and Amadia stumble through the top door of the tavern, laughing as Amadia muttered something about how she was a _lady_ and needed to maintain some _decorum._  

“You helped them in Kirkwall, mages _and_ Templars. You _and_ Anders,” a voice said softly from behind her. When she turned, a light haired boy in a giant hat was speaking to her. His hair and the shadow of his brim obscured his eyes but she knew they were boring into her. “They break their chains, carve their own paths, their own happiness. You gave them that chance. There is death, and sadness, but there is also _life_ , and _light._ New eyes look up at you both in wonder, free like a dream. _Ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you and there will be no Templars to tear them apart._ It has begun, thanks to you.”

Miriam contemplated him for a moment and Cole wondered if he'd need to make her forget and try again. But then a corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk. “Perhaps I really have had too much to drink tonight. Thank you, strange child,” she said with humor. When she turned away from him to walk to her room, a genuine smile was on her face. “You'll have to tell Anders that someday,” she suggested as she walked to her room.

Alistair walked along the battlements to his own room, feeling warmer seeing the Inquisitor clinging to the commander's arm as they walked to her chambers and Cullen's face flushing as she laid her head sleepily on his shoulder. When they'd get to the throne room, she would lean her back against the door wearily and share a dreamy look with her commander who would be caught off guard at the blushing smile she was giving him. As she'd go through her door with a whispered goodnight, he'd whisper one back and stay for a moment in front of her closing door, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to sort out his thoughts again. 

When the famed Warden returned to his room, he removed his armor and underclothing and let the cool air brush his skin for but a moment before climbing into bed. He laid the letters on the table next to the bed; he would write his wife, cousin-in-law, and children in the morning. He muttered a prayer to the Maker for his wife and children and fell asleep imagining them in his arms.

In the neighboring room, Miriam sat in bed with the covers pulled over her legs and pulled out a folded piece of parchment from her pack. When she unfolded it, she gazed upon the sketched faces of her husband and son, a gift from a mage who had drawn Anders holding Mal shortly after he was born. She smiled and held back the tears pulling at the back of her eyes as she traced her fingers over the lines of Anders's jaw, the eyes looking down at their son with love, and Mal's tiny hand curled around one of Anders's fingers. She planted a kiss to the paper, wishing her husband and child felt it from where she was, before neatly folding it and blowing out the candle.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my best friend Steph (socalkitty on Tumblr) for beta'ing and dealing with my stress at creating summaries and titles for fanfiction xD
> 
> My Miriam Hawke apparently talks to my Amadia Trevelyan like Leslie Knope talks to Ann Perkins in "Parks and Recreation," (which doesn't help because the first person that comes to mind as a facecast for Amadia is Rashida Jones) and she apparently likes to use pop culture references. "You beautiful tropical fish" was taken from "Parks and Recreation" and "Commander Grumpy Gills" is a reference to "Finding Nemo." :P
> 
> This fic didn't have much of a plot. It really just stemmed from "What happens if you put these important figures from all three games in a conversation together?" I wanted it to be in a moment of relaxation since you don't really see that too much between the three of them in the game.
> 
> Hopefully I explained Miriam's relationship with Anders well and characterized Cole accurately. This fic was partially to figure out what Miriam's feelings were for Anders post-DA2, reconciling the hero and monster the world views him to be and the man she views him to be. I wanted Cole to give Hawke reassurance, that everything that happened isn't her nor Anders's fault but a necessary gateway to a better world.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! I might write a tiny companion piece to this with Alistair nudging Cullen in regards to Amadia :P


End file.
